Thanks for your replies. I think the problem is at the tech's end. One guy put in the wrong number the first time around. The secound tech "fixed" that error but the card still didn't activate. He'll be back tomorrow for another go around with another card.
PS..I had the channel lineup set up prior and was getting terrific OTA reception.

You stated you have 2 S-Cards in your TiVos now, so your equipment does not require M-Cards, so they are not required to provide them.
I don't think this is something the retentions department can help with. They pretty much only do billing.

You're missing the point here...

I have (2) Series 3's with (2) S-Cards in each DVR (up and running for two years now)

I now have a TiVo Premiere that REQUIRES an M-Card.

Comcast is telling me they have no M-Cards when I know that is not true. THEY are REQUIRED to have them available for people who NEED them. PERIOD, END OF STORY!!!

Got a call from Comcast a few minutes ago from the email that I sent to We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com. They do in fact have M-Cards and will have one for me on Thursday April 8th for the second attempt at the install.

Now that I have Comcast coming with an M-Card for my Premiere, would there be any benefit to having them replace my (4) S-Cards with (2) M-Cards in my (2) Series 3's while the tech is here?

I don't think so but wanted to check.

Series 3's or Series 3 HDs aka TivoHDs?

If the former, you can't. If the latter, and if you are incurring per-card fees, you'll save a small amount of change. No real technical benefit other than removing 2 potential points of future hardware failure.

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I have a TivoHD with 1TB of storage. Don't make me use it.

If the former, you can't. If the latter, and if you are incurring per-card fees, you'll save a small amount of change. No real technical benefit other than removing 2 potential points of future hardware failure.

I believe the ability to leverage the multistream capabilities of an M-Card is unique to the TivoHD and Premiere.

That said, if I understand correctly, the Series 3 will accept M-Cards, but will treat them as S-Cards so you wind up needing 2 of them anyway. Don't quote me on that though, think I read it somewhere here in the forum.

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I have a TivoHD with 1TB of storage. Don't make me use it.

I believe the ability to leverage the multistream capabilities of an M-Card is unique to the TivoHD and Premiere.

That said, if I understand correctly, the Series 3 will accept M-Cards, but will treat them as S-Cards so you wind up needing 2 of them anyway. Don't quote me on that though, think I read it somewhere here in the forum.

this is true. you can use M-cards, but there's no point unless that's all you have. Still need two, in S3.

My first Two M cards were bad, but nobody at Comcast had any confidence with TiVo so it took a long time to diagnose

The easiest troubleshooting step after pairing is to go to the conditional access screen and look for the line that says "Con: Yes EBCP: Yes Val: V 0x06"

If the Val: is not followed by a V it isn't working. It will look like Val: 0x00. Don't let them tell you different, get a new card!

There will be more lines on the conditional access screen after the channel list are updated

The step by step process that should work is:

Insert cable card

Go to the CableCARD options (for installers)

Go to the CableCARD menu

Go to CableCARD pairing screen

The installer will need to tell the 'operator' (for lack of a better term) the cablecard ID, host ID, Data, and card S/N

The operator 'hits' the device twice (whatever that means)

After a few minutes the conditional access screen should show the VAL: V 0xXX described above

You should be all set after that

Also my Harmony 890 seemed to lock up the TiVo premeire until I manually learned every button. So far so good since then.

I will feel good if this post saves 1 person the hours I wasted arguing with uncertain Comcast installers. I went through 3 techs and three cards to get one that worked and it worked the first time as described above with the working card. The tech was in and out in 10 minutes after returning with a valid M card.

I'm on the phone now with another rep and I've given him information for pairing. He seems very knowledgeable and we were just discussing the differences between TiVo Series 2 and 3. He got an error that he wasn't familiar with, so I'm on hold for the moment. After some back and forths with his help desk--and I was happy to hold (thank you to Skype for making toll free calls free)--he determined that the card needs to be swapped out. It has something to do their computer thinking that my numbers are/were in use or something like that. I bought this TiVo used, so this afternoon should be interesting. I have an installer scheduled to come out and swap the card for me some time in the next 3.5 hours, will update later.

For those keeping score at home, this situation was resolved later that afternoon by a tech. Turns out my Host ID was on someone else's account, and only a certain office could resolve that, and it appears only the techs have the number to that office.

Anyways, my knowledgeable rep that scheduled the same-day truck roll told me the service call would be free since it was due to a problem on their end. My bill showed up today, $27.99 heavier. A call to Comcast fixed this, but I have a few gripes:
1) It took 2 minutes and 54 second to get placed into the queue. The rest was all kinds of BS: I got greeted by Ben Stien and Shaq (I never understood why they do that) which was a great waste of 5 seconds, and heard a 30 second promo on the Masters being offered in 3D (apparently your TV must use an HDMI cable to view it in 3D) among other crap.
2) The billing rep reversed the charge as a "one-time courtesy". I'm annoyed that I got charged in the first place, and pissed that they reversed it as a courtesy. To me, I understand this as each customer gets one "get out of jail free card" as a way of making you happy enough to not cancel your account. I was told the call would be free, so I'm pissed that I "used up" this freebie, and the fact that they had to sugar coat it as such. Rather than look at the details of the call, she just gave me this one time credit. The moral is my equipment better not go bad, because I understand they charge you even if their equipment fails.

don't let them ever charge you for something that is their fault. I always ask if I'll be charged for a truck roll when it's something I want to fix over the phone, and they say not as long as it's on their end - which it is.

don't let them ever charge you for something that is their fault. I always ask if I'll be charged for a truck roll when it's something I want to fix over the phone, and they say not as long as it's on their end - which it is.

He told me when he made the appointment it would be no charge, someone dropped the ball along the way.

He told me when he made the appointment it would be no charge, someone dropped the ball along the way.

That "one time exception for our own f***up" business is the kind of thing I would have taken to the we_can_help email address. Even if all I got was an apology out of the deal, it would make me happier.

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I have a TivoHD with 1TB of storage. Don't make me use it.

So after the agony of trying to get cablecards and a tech the knew how to install them (yes it may seem easy but apparently it takes an expert) I got my bill today. $16 charge for the service call, $20 credit for them being late (so really you only get $4 back) and a $35 courtesy credit for some unknown reason which is nice of them. Thats the end of the good news and the rest of my bill seems kinda odd to me.

In my home I have the 2 tivo boxes each with 2 cable cards and one plain digital converter. My bill however reads as follows:

I only have one Comcast Owned box which should be included with my digital preferred plus package so why am i being charged for 3?

"HDTV Equipment Fee
4 @ $6.00each = $24.00 4/15 - 5/14"

This one just baffles me i dont have any of their equipment specifically for hdtv. Theres no such thing as a HDTV cable card vs. a non hdtv cable card. I'm being charged for 4 so im assuming its the cable cards.

"Cable Card Additional Outlet
2 @ 1.50 each = $3.00 4/15 - 5/14"

this charge was expected

"Cablecard Digital Equipment Credit (digital converter @$3.20 and remote control @.25)
2 @ -$3.45 = -$6.90 4/15 - 5/14"
I assume this is because 2 of my boxes in the first statement arent theirs but im still being overcharged for the one thats included in my plan.

I have called numerous times to Comcast to ask how much it would be to add one Mulit-stream cable card to my existing service. I currently have one Digital Cable box and two DTAs (the free ones).

I have received three different answers.
1. $1.50 per month plus a one time installation charge.
2. $6.95 per month plus a one time installation charge.
3. We have no M-Cards. It would be $8.45 per single stream card.

I get similar conflicting answers when I ask what it would cost to replace my existing Digital cable box.

*** I have written a note to we_can_help to see if they can give a definitive answer. ***

Quick reply to skyline987 and jrswartz:One CableCARD is included in the outlet fee for each outlet. Some people get charged twice for an M-Card, if you remind them that it's only one card, they'll usually delete the extra charge. If you have 2 cards and tell them they're both in the same device on one outlet, sometimes they'll take off the second charge.

skyline987, they should NOT be charging you for HD equipment. That charge is for a little square box that decrypts channels and has HDMI (and other) outputs. A CableCARD is not HD equipment, and they shouldn't be charging you

jrswartz, theoretically your charges for equipment would go away if you're able to get M-Cards. I picked up my card at an office, and the rep was a ***** so I didn't bother asking her for an M-Card. Turned out the card was "bad" so when the tech came out to replace it, he gave me an M-Card. Out of the 4 he had in his truck, only one was an M.

Both, if they try to charge you more than you should be paying, reference this page, but note the disclaimer.

Comcast came with two M-Cards. The tech was clueless as to what needed done. The first M-Card was still registered to another user for some reason. So he then tried card number two. That one took but not for about 30 minutes. The person that he called at the head-end did not know what to do. I had to tell them both that they needed the host ID and cable card ID's paired. I got TiVo support on the line and they helped a little. They both gave up and were about to setup another appointment when all of a sudden the card started working. So maybe it takes a while for the card to activate when they enter it in the system.

Both, if they try to charge you more than you should be paying, reference this page, but note the disclaimer.

That disclaimer answers one of my questions - first confirm I've seen that there is regional pricing at work. That HDTV Technology Fee hasn't hit my area yet but it has been announced on billing statements in at least 2 geographies that have been discussed in the forum.

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I have a TivoHD with 1TB of storage. Don't make me use it.

I have received three different answers.
1. $1.50 per month plus a one time installation charge.
2. $6.95 per month plus a one time installation charge.
3. We have no M-Cards. It would be $8.45 per single stream card.

I get similar conflicting answers when I ask what it would cost to replace my existing Digital cable box.

*** I have written a note to we_can_help to see if they can give a definitive answer. ***

I received a call back from Comcast today. The call back was very timely and the individual was very helpful.

To add an M-card to my existing services would add the cost of an 'additional outlet' charge of $6.95 per month. That charge includes the first cable card including an M-card. If I replaced my existing digital cable box then there would be no additional charge since either a cable box or cable card is included in the base service.

He also offered to have me call him if I get a Premiere and he would make sure a knowledgeable installer would be assigned.

I got an e-mail back from Vinisha from Comcast yesterday about an hour after sending the email saying they would look into it and contact me. Today I received a phone call from Marie who had helped me with my original problem. She said to her the bill definitely doesn't seem right and she would research it and let me know whats going on.

First time using Cable Card with comcast digital cable. When I don't subscribe to a channel say "NBA League Pass" it used to have a screen that say's "Not Auhorized" call 1-800-comcast. With the cable card it say's "searching for signal on bottom. Is this normal for channels I don't subscribe to?

First time using Cable Card with comcast digital cable. When I don't subscribe to a channel say "NBA League Pass" it used to have a screen that say's "Not Auhorized" call 1-800-comcast. With the cable card it say's "searching for signal on bottom. Is this normal for channels I don't subscribe to?

That can be normal. I haven't figured out all the ins and outs, but some of the channels I don't subscribe to get the "searching for signal" bit, while others make a CableCard status screen pop up.

However, I have *never* had a message saying call 1-800-COMCAST appear on a channel that wasn't part of my package. On my Comcast DVR, maybe, but not on my Tivo.

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I have a TivoHD with 1TB of storage. Don't make me use it.

My Comcast/Tivo saga (skip to the bold if you find the detail too much):

I have had a Tivo S3 for about three years - up until a lightning strike took out the HDMI port on it (and the same surge took out the HDMI switch on my receiver, and on my plasma TV ... ). I was one of the first people in my market to attempt the dual S-Card installation and it was a real headache. Swapped out about five cards before we could get them both to come up properly. The first one I got went in without a problem so we knew it wasn't the cable or the Tivo. That took a couple of truck rolls to resolve.

When the S3 took a hit, I went to Best Buy and found an HD XL which I got for a little of nothing since it was the display unit. I installed it with the old S-Cards and for whatever reason, I was able to see all of my subscribed content with the exception of HBO without re-pairing. The HD XL had a problem with intermittent reboots, so I went ahead and returned it late last week and used the refund to buy the Premiere.

Immediately, I notice that it takes M-Card and not S-Card. Call Tivo - "Hey, is there any way to use an S-Card until I get the M-Card turned up?" Tivo Tech: "SURE!" (But wrong. Call Tivo back to confirm what the previous tech had said after running through guided setup and failing; I was then told that what the previous guy said was BS. Good training, Tivo.)

So. Call Comcast, make sure that they have M-Cards, go out the next day and grab one. Bring it home, put it in the Premiere. Call Comcast, read out the digits, Comcast tech tells me it will take 1 - 24 hours to get this working. They issue a ticket. I call back 8 hours later to check on progress. Comcast says, "Oops, that order didn't go in." They issue a new ticket and try to activate the card with me still on the line. Card won't activate. They say to call Tivo. I call Tivo. Run through all the configuration info, read out some screens, they say to call Comcast back and tell them that the problem is on their end. I call Comcast back and get another tech who works diligently to try to get the card to activate. While I'm working with her, I start seeing QAM messages, so I figure we're making progress, but something on her end won't let her save the changes she made. We schedule a visit for early Monday.

Comcast guy gets here Monday. Run through the whole song and dance again with setting up the Tivo. Tech checks signal levels, everything looks fine, can't get card to activate still. Call Tivo - Tivo says "try another card." Comcast guy checks his truck - he's got four S-Cards but no M-Cards. He goes to get one from another tech nearby. Try next card an hour later. Nothing. Call Tivo again. Tivo again insists that it's the card. We get another card from another tech, another hour wasted. Meantime, the "box drivers" on the headend fail, so they can't send fresh hits out to the card.

All this time, we're not seeing an OOB lock, which I was told early on (during 2nd call to Tivo) is the key to the whole thing.

Comcast tech finally gets a hold of the guy who builds the database at the headend, they're discussing this while I'm talking to Tivo tech support again. I tell the Tivo guy the whole saga, and he says, "well, it took 8 cards for me to get my cable working." I say, "Yeah, well, riddle me this: Do you think it was actually 8 bad cards, or do you think it was the fact that you talked to 8 different people, and the 8th one finally had an effing clue?" He says the latter, but concedes that he doesn't know what's going on here.

Comcast tech (who has now been on this call for upwards of 7 hours, counting trips to procure more M-Cards) finally zeroes in on the OOB lock. "What frequency is that supposed to come in on?" Looking at the DVR diagnostic screens, we see a few that it keeps cycling through. Comcast database guy says, "Try 75025." Tech attaches his meter to the cable, sees -3db at 75025. Gets out an amp and dials it down so that the meter reads 0db. Attaches amp to my cable, immediately acquires signal lock. A minute later, we start receiving the channel map. Card activated.

So. Very long story much shorter:

1) I had S-Cards working fine in an older Tivo without incident for years.

2) New M-Card should have also worked, but didn't, and never would have because the signal was strong enough for an S3 tuner but not strong enough for the Premiere tuner. We could have kept on swapping M-Cards until doomsday, which was the only advice Tivo was giving.

3) Tivo left me and the Comcast tech to figure all of that out. My guess is that they don't know that their older units were much more forgiving of signal attenuation.

If we had time, I would have asked to see if any of the other cards we'd tried would have worked. My guess is that every one of them was just fine.

Wonder how many other people are struggling with Premiere installs when they shouldn't have to.

I have a Series3 HD TiVo with 2 S-CableCards that's been working fine for several months until my recent cable upgrade.

I upgraded service with Comcast here in Nashville TN from Digital Starter plus HD (working fine) to Digital Service plus HD and it's all gone screwball now. Several times a day, one of those black-&-gray CableCard status screens pops up and the recorded show I'm watching freezes. The CLEAR button sends the status screen away and after a short pause the video starts up again right where it left off.

Now that's really annoying but the real problem is that about every 2 or 3 days, TiVo crashes jumping to the Powering Up screen. Now I've had re-booting issues in the past but this is different because it doesn't re-boot; it sits on Powering Up apparently forever. The fix is to unplug the TiVo, wait 30 seconds or so and then plug it back in.

If we're out of the house we lose all scheduled recordings and downloads until we return and do this procedure. Maddening!

Looking forward to an upcoming vacation, who the heck do I call? Comcast can be hopeless most times, TiVo's no help at all and Weaknees (where I bought the unit) not much better. I've tried everything on the TiVo site to no avail.

So, question -- My HDTivo appears to be dead (stuck in the reboot loop, can't get into kickstart, ready to scream)...tomorrow will try divorcing the MyDVR expander and see what happens. At any rate, my old machine has one M card set up by Comcast; if I need to run out and buy a new Premier tomorrow, will I need to have Comcast come out again, or can I just transfer the cc from one to the other? (I have a feeling it's not all that simple)....

... if I need to run out and buy a new Premier tomorrow, will I need to have Comcast come out again, or can I just transfer the cc from one to the other? (I have a feeling it's not all that simple)....

You are right, it's not that simple, but you SHOULD be able to do it over the phone with Comcast.

Having said that, the last time my Series 3 got stuck in a continual reboot cycle, I put the whole unit (unplugged) on a work table, took the cover off, unplugged the Hard Disk drive cables, replugged them in, put the cover back on, reconnected everything, plugged it in and it worked. I know that sounds crazy but that was months ago and it never failed again until the recent goofy stuff it's doing (see above).

Comcast just wants to frustrate people over M-card. The whole process should done from the tivo, without having to call or have a visit. The box has a internet connection, so comcast could get the info off the box, without having some bozo having to call from a cell phone, and wait to tell them numbers. Its just so the need for cable gateways. If the user cant do it themselves, then its a failed technology...

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"If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager then without hesitation, that He exists." ~ Blaise Pascal- on God